Horsham: Local Authority Slams "Aggressive" Government Housing Plan

Thursday, 20 August 2020 11:07

By John Warburton @Warblefly

Horsham (Photo: John Sutton / Creative Commons)

Horsham District Council wants to hear viewpoints from the public as it reacts with dismay to the government's recent home-building proposals.

The local authority said, in a statement this week, it considered the government's timetable for putting up new homes "aggressive", as it contained reforms that would require at least 1,715 new homes annually in the district.

That's a major increase from the current yearly figure, 920, according to the council.

It added that it's intending to take "legal advice" before responding to the government, which is asking for the council's viewpoint, but it believes it is clear that the house-building industry in Horsham District can't deliver the number the government wants to see built.

Its statement continued:

"We understand the requirement on all councils to produce plans that show where future development could go in their areas and we recognise that strong demand for new homes exists in West Sussex.

"We equally understand that not having any plan would not help and would instead, play into the hands of speculative developers.

"The Council will be taking legal advice before responding formally to the consultation but it does not believe that the house building industry can deliver 1,715 homes per year.

"It is difficult enough already to find land that has few constraints for development and to absorb 1,715 homes every year would make that task virtually impossible."

An on-line consultation has been set up, asking whether or not District residents agree or disagree with the council's viewpoint, and other questions.

The authority said it wants to "minimise the impact on the District of new house numbers, maximise the infrastructure benefits and improve biodiversity."

To achieve this, the council stated that the the numbers in such a plan would be considerably lower, based on the existing Government minimum target of 920, plus the requirement to contribute to meeting wider needs.

Cllr Claire Vickers, Cabinet Member for Planning and Development, said:

"We have been trying for a considerable time to get answers from the Government about a number of things as regards to the house build numbers that we are required to provide: no answers have been forthcoming.

"We were hoping for a constructive dialogue.

"To now have proposals that would give us almost the highest house building number in the south east of England was a bolt from the blue.

"We accept it is, at this stage, only a consultation document but it came as a huge shock.

"We very much hope that as we are a good way through producing a new plan we can continue with that and thus put off for some years the imposition on the District of the sort of completely unattainable housing numbers that have now been proposed."